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Friday, October 3, 2014

Hybrid Tail Lights on my '12 Impreza Hatchback!

I finally did it! After almost a YEAR with this idea sitting on the drawing board, I finally took the plunge and fixed a set of 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid tail lights to my 2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0i Hatchback. I absolutely love the end result and it wasn't too terribly hard to do!

The hurdle to jump with this conversion is the plug for the wiring harness between the car and the tail light. While the wiring layout is IDENTICAL between the Impreza and XV Crosstrek Hybrid, the plugs are shaped differently, preventing this from being a simple "Plug-n-Play" swap. However, it is still quite easy to take care of by depinning the plugs and re-using the Impreza housing for the Hybrid tail light wiring. Just keep track of the layout between the two so you don't mix it up, but other than that... it's a relatively simple conversion in application.

While it is quite easy to do, you probably won't see a lot of Impreza Hatchbacks toting these sharp tail lights. Unless you manage to meet up with a Hybrid owner who isn't attached to their beautiful LED tail lights that would like to swap with you, these parts aren't cheap. Mix in the fact that trying to find these tail lights in the used market will be quite difficult as the car (as of this post) hasn't even been available for purchase for a year in the US. They don't make too many of these Hybrids either, which will make any shot at finding a used set even tougher. Purchasing the necessary parts from a local Subaru dealership will cost you quite a hefty chunk of change.

My little Hatchback is more confusing than ever, what with WRX wheels, quad-tipped exhaust, and now sporty-looking tail lights, it doesn't look much like the base model economy car that it actually is. I'm really happy with the results and will keep working to make my Impreza unique, but still somehow look like it was some sort of factory-option that never was.

Your car looks absolutely lovely! You need the spoiler next - I have the same year/model in marine blue pearl & I just put my spoiler on. Changes the whole look of the car! Can I ask how you did your exhaust? I've been wanting to do something similar.

Thanks, Lyndsay! I'm afraid you're a little late. I have since sold this Hatchback for a WRX STI. There's a post on the exhaust but it's essentially half stock and half BRZ exhaust cleverly mixed to give that quad-tip exhaust look.